For anyone embarking on home alterations, despite the size of the commitment, there are many special moments to look forward to: seeing the designs you dreamed about being drawn into actual plans; watching your home taking shape as the building work happens; moving into your newly completed home with the extra space and configuration you always wanted.
Sure, there will be times when some of those moments will be challenging, but there is one part of the journey that, let’s face it, nobody looks forward to: the Development Application process.
Do We Really Need Development Applications?
The Development Application can seem like a lot of red tape, but take a step back and it becomes clear why they are important. Having some rules and a process around what can be built in a given area is crucial to ensure that every neighbourhood remains enjoyable for all to live in.
Just as you would like to have a chance to look at what you neighbour is planning to do with their home before work commences, and how that might potentially affect you, they should have the right to look at your plans too.
And much as we would hope that people employ reputable designers or architects as well as builders, we all benefit from an authority making sure that plans have been well thought through, have taken into account all the potential issues, and built to a certain standard.
Why Experience Counts
Most homeowners will only submit a Development Application once in their lifetime, so the various documents required and regulations to be met will be unfamiliar, and can seem confusing or plain scary.
This is one of the reasons Addbuild chose to offer Development Application approvals as part of our “concept to completion” services.
With over 40 years of experience, we have built thousands of home alterations around Sydney, and dealt with many of the local councils. Our experience of managing the Development Application process for many of our clients gives you some key advantages:
- We understand exactly what documents are required and the format they are required in, reducing the chance that what is sent to council is rejected for avoidable reasons.
- Our specialist design consultants can inform you if more specific controls may apply in your area and help achieve a design solution that not only meets your needs but also complies with your Council’s requirements.
- We have personally dealt with the staff at many local councils, have built a rapport with them, and understand how they prefer to work. If necessary, we negotiate with the Council on your behalf to achieve your goals within their parameters, drawing on our expertise and saving you time.
- In some circumstances, we can look at whether your plans can be amended to become a Complying Development: this means that your alterations won’t require a council Development Application at all and can be fast-tracked through approval in 10 days.
- We will advise you on your best way to approach your neighbours so that we can potentially anticipate, minimise and then resolve any objections before these become a more major issue that delays your project.
As our recent blog article highlighted, Addbuild also provides a complete design service which is further to your advantage when it come to the approval process. We are better able to control the various documents required more comprehensively and ensure the highest possible chance that they will be accepted with the minimum of delay.
Whist Addbuild can’t take away all the stress you may feel along the journey of any major home alterations, we like to think that we can do everything possible to reduce your worries to a minimum.
As you may well imagine, dealing with the Development Application process is one service that our clients have been very happy to delegate to us!
If you are planning home alterations in the near future and want to explore further how Addbuild can help you, feel free to call us today on (02) 8765 1555 or use our contact form.
